Small article dispenser and counter

ABSTRACT

A device for dispensing a predetermined number of small articles from a storage container, in which the small articles move in response to a vibrator through an adaptor unit in communication with the storage container; and, as the small articles leave the outlet of the adaptor unit, they are detected by a counting mechanism which stops the vibrator after the predetermined number of small articles has been counted.

' [11 3,823,344 [451 July 16, 1974 United States Patent [191 Linkemer etal.

198/220 222/196 Lakso et al. 250/221 3,038,589 6/1962 Allen et a1.3,204,832 9/1965 Barber.................,......m. 3,207,909 9/1965 SMALLARTICLE DISPENSER AND COUNTER .N .m m m h T w W A m a m m m L S P m W%WP 3 A.m k m w Ohm B mA m m fim NM M 0 i m r mm Q M mt GW mm H m A .Rl mO n F3. Wmn M mmm oo "8H3 PAAL m in 0 2a 6 6d 0m em H 2 .m Mk 9 L cM h 1ailymne 8 r me r 4 e au a 3 BMLSGG M 2 d IL w k W I F A Related US.Application Data ABSTRACT termined number of small articles has beencounted.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 13 Claims, 19 Drawing Figures2,710,712 Friedman.......................'..... 221/200 v PATENTEDJUL 16 I974 SHiEI 3 [IF 5 PATENTEU Jun 61974 3.823.844 SHEET a 0F 5 Thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No.8,938, filed by Bernard Linkemer, Larry Michelson and Glenn L. Beall, onFeb. 5, 1970, now abandoned.

' BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus fordispensing a measured number of small articles such as medicinal pills,capsules and the like. Heretofore, pills and the like have beengenerally dispensed manually by pharmacists. Some pill countingmechanisms have been developed, such as the one shown in Roseberg US.Pat. No. 3,376,970, but these devices do not completely preclude manualcontact with the pills. Also, these devices could not be used to countpills such as penicillin, because of cross contamination.

Apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention overcomesthe disadvantages of the prior devices and practices. It automaticallyand accurately dispenses a measured amount of medicinal pills andthereby relieves the pharmacist from the time consuming task of manuallycounting the pills. It permits him to devote his attention to othermatters while a predetermined number of pills is being counted,'and tofill prescriptions without touching the pills. Another object of theinventionis to provide a compact apparatus that can be economicallymanufactured and is adapted to be used in existing pharamacies withconventional drug containers and'prescription vials. Further objectswill become manifest from the ensuing description, the drawings and theclaims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus of this invention includes,generally, a

housing, an adaptor unit, and a vibrator mounted in the housing, thevibrator being connected with the adaptor unit and causing the same tovibrate. The adaptor unit is capable of being connected to an ordinarycontainer of pills and, when it is vibrated, the pills move one by oneout of the adaptor unit and into a prescription vial. As the pills passout of the adaptor unit, they are counted by'counting means employing aphotoelectric cell. The prescription vial is retained in place bygripping means which positions the vial in the proper location forreceiving pills from the adaptor unit. The adaptor unit has a rotatablechute of triangular cross section. The angles of the cross section are30, 60 and 90, each angle providing a differently shaped and sizedoutlet to accommodate the various sizes and shapes of pills, capsulesand the like. The angle which is in the lowermost position acts as theoutlet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view ofdispensing apparatus incorporating one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the apparatus of,

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of a baffle structure incorporated inthe apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of theapparatus of FIG.6,'taken along the section line'7--7;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of a portion of the apparatusillustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the various parts of the apparatus whichmake up the dispensing adaptor unit incorporated in the apparatus ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of thepresent invention, partly broken away to disclose aninterior portionthereof;

FIG. 11 is a partial plan view of the front of the apparatus illustratedin FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus illustrated in FIGS.l0-and l1, taken along the section line l2-12 in FIG. 11; I

FIG. 13 is a side elevation view of the intermediate elbow portion ofthe dispensing adaptor unit;

FIG. 14 is a front elevation view of the intermediate .elbow portion ofthe dispensing adaptor unit;

FIG. 15 is a side elevation view of the cap portion of a dispensingadaptor unit adapted for attachment to conventional counters having asupply of small articles;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawingsand specifically to FIGS. 1 to 3, the dispensing and counting apparatus10 of the present invention is provided with a housing 12, with meansfor supporting a storage container 14 containing a plurality of pills,capsules or the like. The container 14 is connected to a dispensingadaptor unit 16 having a chute 22 from which pills or other articles aredispensed one at a time in single file, to drop from the end 23 of thechute 22 into a container such as a prescription vial 24, or the like.The housing 12 also contains counting apparatus 18 having a manuallyrotatable knob 19, cooperating with a dial 20. The knob 9 may be rotatedto set the counter 18 to a predeterminednumber, which number isindicated by the dial 20. When the counter 18 has thus been set, thevibrator apparatus (shown inFlG. 5) is energized by means of apush-button switch 21, after which operation of the vibrator causespills or other articles to be dispensed from the container 14 throughthe chute 22 into the vial 24. v

As the pills drop from the end of the chute 22 into the vial 24 they arecounted by means of a photoelectric.

cell mounted in an arm 26, which arm is supported by the housing 12.Signals developed by the photoelectric cell are communicated to thecounter 18, and when the number of signals generated by thephotoelectric cell are equal to the number set into the dial 20,operation of the vibrator apparatus is stopped and feeding of the pillsor other articles ceases.

preferably one which operates at line voltage and has a double-pole,double-throw relay to actuate and deactuate the vibrator. The counteris. preferably set by knob 19 to any number from 1 to 999. In place ofthe knob 19 and dial 20, the counter may optionally be of the type whichis set by push buttons and has indicator lamps for indicating the numberto which the counter is set.

' As used hereinafter, the term front denotes that side of thedispensing apparatus which is visible in FIG. 1, which rear denotes theopposite side.

The housing 12 is formed with two vertical side walls 29 and 31 betweenwhich a number of other walls and panels are secured. A pair of verticalpanels 28 and 30 are secured to the side walls and 31 near their rearedges, and the panels 28 and extend toward each other for a shortdistance. The panel 28 has a vertical slot 32 in the upper portion ofits inward edge, and the panel 30 has a corresponding vertical slot 34.The slots 32 and 34 receive ears integrally formed ona cap 36,

which cap closes the opening of the container 14. The

cooperation of the ears with the slots 32 and 34 maintains the positionof the container 14 in relation to he housing 12. The cap 36 forms apart of the dispensing adaptor unit 16, and the bottom portion thereofis connected directly to an intermediate elbow portion 37, which in turnis connected to the chute 22. A cam ring 38 is provided near thejunction of the intermediate elbow portion with-the chute 22 and thelower portion of its periphery extends a slight distance downwardlythrough an aperture 42 through a panel 40 secured between the side walls29 and 31 of the housing 12. The cam ring 38 cooperates with thevibrator apparatus so that it, the chute 22, and the intermediate elbowportion 37 are caused to vibrate and thus to feed the pills through thechute 22. I

The arm 26 which houses the photoelectric cell, is fixed to the housing12 and is provided with an aperture 44 through which light passes toreach the photoelectric cell. The light is produced by a lamp or otherilluminating means mounted in an arm 46, secured to the housing 12 andextending in a direction parallel to the arm 26 in such a position thatpills passing out from the end of the chute 22 interrupt the light beam.

The vial 24 is positioned beneath the end of the chute 22 by means of apair of cooperating jaws 48 and 50 respectively supported by a pair ofarms 52 and 54, which pass through an aperture 56 in a vertical panel 58extending between walls 29 and 31 of the housing 12. The arms 52 and 54have their rear ends supported on a pair of vertical shafts (not shown)interior of the housing 12, which are geared together so that the frontends of the arms move in opposite directions. Thus movement of the end53 of the arm 48 opens the jaws 48 and 50 together to receive a vialtherebetween. The arms 52 and 54 are spring biased toward. closedposition by means not shown so that the vial is securely positionedbeneath the end of the chute 22. A horizontal panel 60 is securedbetween the walls 29 and 31 of the housing 12 to support the vial 24 asit is heldin place by the jaws 48 and 50. Small vials aresupported bythev jaws 48 and 50 above the panel 60.

The cap 36 is formed of rigid plastic or the like and has a set ofthreads 59 (FIG. 4) which permitsit to be screwed onto the container'l4.

The intermediate elbow portion 37 of the dispensing adaptor unit 16 isformed of soft rubber or other similar flexible material, and is shownin detail in FIGS. 4, 8 and 9. The upper'end thereof slips over a lowerspout portion 62 of the cap 36. The other end of the elbow section isprovided with an enlarged circular collar 64. The cam ring 38 surroundsthe collar 64, and has an inwardly extending flange 66 disposed adjacentthe rear face of the enlarged collar 64. the I A baffle member 68 isdisposed within the intermediate elbow portion 37, and one end thereofhas a circular tubular portion 70 terminating in an outwardly extendingflange 72, disposed adjacent the front face of the collar 64. Aplurality of projections 74 extend outwardly from the surface of thecollar 64 in a direction parallel to the axis of the tubular portion 70,and engage apertures provided in aligned positions in the flange 72 sothat the baffle member 68 is securely positioned relative to theintermediate elbow portion 37.

The chute 22 is secured at its rear end to a circular disk 76, the diskhaving a diameter approximately equal to that of the flange 72. The diskis positioned adjacent the front surface of the flange 72. A lockingring 80, having threads 81 engaged with threads 82 provided on theinterior surface of the cam ring 38, is positioned forwardly of the disk76, and bears against it, whereby the entire assembly of cam ring 38,elbow portion 37, baffle member 68, and disk 76 aresecured together. Theamount of force effective between the cam ring 38 and the locking ring80 depends upon the tightness with which the locking ring 80 is screwedonto the cam ring 38. A set of index numbers are printed on the frontface of the cam ring 38, and an index mark (FIG. 9) is printed on thelocking ring 80, so that any desired force between the locking ring 80and the cam ring 38 may be selected by'rotating the index mark 85 to theproper number of the cam ring 38. The outer extremity of the cam ring 38is in the form of a circular O-ring (FIG. 4). The lower portion of thering is received in a circular recess in a saddle member 82 secured to aplate 84 by means of screws 86 (FIG. 5). The plate 84 is resilientlymounted on a base 91 by a resilient member 93. The plate 84 is connectedto a vibrator plate by means of rods 88. The action of the vibrator isto vibrate the plate 84 in a direction longitudinal to the direction ofthe rods 88, and this vibration is transmitted to the cam ring 38 bymeans of the saddle 82. By this means the cam ring 38 is caused to movein a forward and back direction. As the elbow section 37 is formed offlexible material, the chute. 22 and the portion of the elbow section 37which is connected thereto are caused to vibrate freely whilethecontainer 14 is rigidly secured in association with the housing 12.

One type of vibrator which may be used is a l 15 volt, 60 cycleelectromechanical type having a frequency of 3,600'cycles per minute, avibration inch, and a capacity of 10 pounds.

The chute 22 and the disk 76 are formed of a rigid material such asstyrene or the like. The triangular cross section of the chute 22 hasthree angles of 30, 60 and 90. The disk .76 is rotatable relative to thelocking ring 80, to bring any desired angle to the lowermost position toform the dispensing outlet. The three different angles are preferablesince they accommodate the greatest number of sizes and shapes of pills,capsules, tablets and the like. A narrow strip of semiflexible material,such as Teflon, is supported at the 90 amplitude of 0.25

angle of the chute 22, and the two ends of the strip are secured to thetwo sidewalls forming the comer, in order to facilitate arrangingrelatively large pills into single file.

The attitude of the chute 22, as best illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 8,extends at a slight incline rising from the intermediate elbow portion'37 to its free end. The amount of this incline is approximately 4. Ithas been found desirable to provide such an incline in order toencourage pills or other articles to travel in single file fashion, andin order to inhibit round pills from rolling out of the chute 22.

The baffle member 68 is formed of relatively rigid plastic material. Thefront end of the baffle comprises a tubular portion 70 to which theflange 72 is connected. The lower portion of the rear end of the tubularportion70 joins with a portion 70a formed as a quarter of a sphere, andgenerally conforms to the interior surface of the elbow 37. The upperrear edge 70b of the tube 70 is inclined, as shown in FIGS.'7 and 9,along the locus of intersection that the tube 70 would make with avertical circular cylinder. A pair of curved fillets 75 are secured toopposite ends of the edge 70b and extend downwardly therefrom to theplane of the upper edge of the portion 70a. A vertical panel 77 extendsdownwardly from the central portion of the edge 70b to the plane of theupperedge of the portion 70a, immediately forward of the fillets 75. Themiddle ofthe bottom edge of the panel 77 has a semicircular notch. Ahorizontal panel 79 is connected to the upper extremity of the portion74, and forms a baffle across the rear part of the circular passagewayleading down from the cap 36. A horizontal panel 87 is secured to thefront face of the panel 77, and extends forwardly therefrom to the planeof the flange 72. The panel 87 defines a cavity with the upper portionof the tube 70.

A rod 78 is connected to the panel 79 and extends upwardly for adistance sufficiently to penetrate into the bottom of the container 14where thepills may be somewhat congested as they prepare to pass throughthe opening at the bottom of the container 14. The

presence of the rod 78, vibrating with the cam ring 38, tends to relievethis congestion and line up the pills for passage downwardly through thesemicircular opening defined by the wall 77 and the front edge of thepanel 79. In order to move along this path, pills must pass around thefront edge of the panel 79, after which they enter the chamber definedby the bottom of the tube and the portion 70a. The pills then passoutwardly through this chamber past the baffle provided .by the panel 77and the fillets into a chamber of larger cross section defined by thewall 87 and the bottomportion of the tube 70.. As they enter thetriangular chute 22 passing the wall 84 and the disk 76, the pills orother articles are travelling essentially in single file. Thus they passout the end of the chute 22 one by one.

It has been found that the provision of the rod 78 and the variouspanels of the baffle member 68 tends mate-' rially to increase thespeedat which the pills can pass out of the pill container 14 and to thechute 22, and facilitates their being ordered into single-filearrangement.

In operation, the dispensing adaptor unit 16 is attached to a storagecontainer 14 and the unit is posiadaptor units 16 are employed, eachadaptor unit 16 preferably remains on a storage container even whenpills are not being dispensed therefrom, i.e., when the container is onthe shelf, and the end 23 of the chute 22 is then closed by a suitabledustproof closure 98 (FIG. 4). This obviates the necessity forattachment of an adaptor unit to a particular storage container eachtime pills therefrom are to be taken from it; and, further, obviates theneed for cleaning the adaptor units each time they are used, sinceonlyone type of pill is used with each unit.

The receptacle. or vial 24 for the pills or other small articles ispositioned below outlet 23 and maintained in a receiving position by thejaws 48 and 50. The counter 18 is then set for dispensing the desirednumber of articles by appropriate adjustment of the knob 19. Finally,the amount of force on the connection between the intermediate elbowportion 37 and the chute 22 is adjusted by turning the locking ring 80.The more force that is placed onthis connection (i.e., the tighter theconnection is made), the greater'will be the amplitude of vibrationimparted to the chute 22. For some pills or other articles the vibrationshould be greater than for other articles, to facilitate single-filefeeding of the pills and guard against breaking or abrading the moredelicate ones. Atthis time, the photoelectric cell within the arm 26becomes operative'and the vibrator is energized. The cam ring 38,positioned in the saddle 82, imparts a vibrating motion to adaptor unit16 so that the small articles from the container 14 move from thecontainer into the dispensing adaptor unit 16 and emerge one by one fromoutlet23. As the small articles emerge from outlet 23, they interruptthe beam of light from the photocell and each interruption istransmitted to the counter 18. When a predetermined number of smallarticles have beendispensed, the vibrator is deenergized anddispensation of the articles ceases. The small article's remainingwithin adaptor unit 16 are returned into the storage container 14 whenthe container and attached adaptor unit are inverted for shelf storage.

When the dispensing and counting apparatus of this invention is used,the articles tobe dispensed are not handled. This is particularlyadvantageousfor pharmaceutical use because it is sanitary. Moreover,dispensation and counting of the small articles are accomplishedautomatically so that human counting errors are eliminated and theefficiency of the pharmacist is increased because he can devote hisattention to other matters and never lose time because of the need torecount pills for prescriptions.

Referring now specifically to the alternative embodiment shown in- FIGS.10-19 of the drawings, the dispensing and counting apparatus includes ahousing 92 having a vibrator 94 disposed therein, similar to thevibrator which has been described, except that it is arranged to vibratein an up-and-down direction, instead of back and forth. The vibrator 94cooperates with an adaptor unit 96. consisting of a cap identical tothat described above, an intermediate elbow portion and atriangular-shaped chute 102. The chute 102 has a dispensing outlet 103.

The number of small articles which are dispensed from the outlet 103 arecounted by means of a counter 114, identical to that described above.Each time a pill passes the photoelectric cell 116 (which is mounted onan arm 117), and interrupts the light beam, this inter- 7 ruption iselectrically transmitted to the counter 114. The counter 114 iselectrically connected to the vibrator 94 so that when the desirednumber of pills have been dispensed (and have thereby passed thephotoelectric cell), the electric circuit to the vibrator isdeenergized.

Also disposed in the housing 92 are arms 104 and 106, which are biasedtoward closed or gripping position by spring means (not shown). Theterms 104 and 106 are provided with jaws 108 and 110 for clasping asmall article receptacle (not shown), such as a medicinal pill vial. Thearms 104 and 106 are arranged in overlapping relationship so as toaccommodate receptacles or vials of various sizes, includingexceptionally small diameter vials. The arms 104 and 106 are movablelongitudinally and simultaneously by means of the intermeshing gear-typemating relationship at the inner ends thereof as shown at 112.Accordingly, arms 104 and 106 can be readily positioned so as tomaintain the opening of a small article receptacle beneath thedispensing outlet 103 in the adaptor unit 96.

The adaptor unit 96 is shown in detail in FIGS. 11 through 18. The elbowsection 100 of the adaptor unit 96 is similar to the elbow section 37,described above, except that it is connected to the chute 102 in adifferent manner. The forward end of elbow section 110 is provided withan enlargedcircular collar 130 with a smaller circular collar 142positioned inwardly therefrom so as to provide space for securelymaintaining a drive cam member 134 therein. The cam member 134 is in theform of a circular O-ring and formed of a rigid material such as, forexample, impact styrene and the like. Member 134 rests on the vibrator94 and thereby transmits vibratory motion to the chute 102. By using theflexible elbow 100 and the rigidly mounted chute 102, the latter arevibrated more vigorously than the container 14. This makes thedispensing unit more adaptable to different sized containers 14 andobviates the need for a vibrator larger than the one used.

The triangular shaped chute member 102 is formed of a rigid materialsuch as styrene and the like, and is identical to the chute 22 exceptfor its manner of connection with the elbow portion 100. The chute has acircular portion 105 at its rear end which is adapted for insertion andfrictional engagement within collar 130 of the elbow portion 100. Thechute 102 is rotatable with respect to the elbow 100 so that any one ofthe angular sides of the chute can be positioned in the lowermostposition to form the dispensing outlet 103. Means comprisingprotuberances 137 located on the periphery of the'chute 102 and recesses139 provided in the elbow section 100, shown in FIGS. l7, l8 and 19, areused to control the rotating movement of the chute. The recesses l39aremolded into the elbow section 100, as shown in FIG. 14, and are adaptedto receive the protuberances 137, so that the chute can be accuratelyset in any one of the three dispensing positions.

A baffle member 136 (see FIG. 12) is provided within the elbow 100 todirect the flow of small articles.

The baffle member snaps into the elbow 100 and conforms to the insidewall thereof. It is provided with three different sized openings 138 andis attached to and rotates with the chute 102. The openings 138 vary insize, and correspond to the different sized angles of the chute 102.When the narrowest angle of the chute 102 is in use, the smallest hole138 of the baffle memher 136 will be in operative position. When thelargest angle of the chute is employed, the largest hole is used.

Pill storage containers are conventional sized bottles and there areonly a relatively few different sized caps used on them. Cap 36 isadapted to replace the caps of these conventional containers. Thus, thediameter of cap 36 can be-varied so as to replace various sized caps andto accommodate various sized storage containers. The operation of theunit shown in FIG. 10 is the same as has been described above for theembodiment of FIG. 1.

While specific embodiments of this invention have been described,modifications of this embodiment may be made. For'example, various typesof vibrators and counting mechanisms may be employed and other suitablemeans for holding the receiving vial can be used. These modificationsand others are within the spirit and scope of this invention and areintended to be covered by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for dispensing a predetermined number of articles from astorage container into a separate receptacle comprising:

' means for temporarily positioning said storage container on saidapparatus so that the articles may be dispensed therefrom;

counting means;

a vibrator adapted to be activated by said counting means andde-activated thereby when apredeterminednumber of articles have beendispensed;

means for maintaining said receptacle in a receiving position;

. means for transporting said articles from said storage container tosaid receptacle including: I

a chute member, means for receiving vibratory motion from said vibrator,and flexible means disposed between said container and said chuteportion;

means for temporarily attaching said transporting means to said storagecontainer;

means for transmitting the vibratory motion from said vibrator to saidtransporting means whereby said predetermined number of articles arecaused to move through said transporting means into said receptacle;

wherein said chute member has a triangularly shaped outlet and isadapted to be rotated so that the apex of each angle of the triangle maybe moved to the lowermost position and act as the outlet angle.

. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the angles forming saidtriangularly shaped chute portion each differ from each other soas toaccommodate different sized and shaped articlesv 3. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein the means for receiving vibratory motion from saidvibrator is a cam adjacent said chute member and the flexible meansdisposed between said chute member and the storage container is aflexible elbow.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said counting means includes aphotoelectric cell which intercepts a beam of light in the path of thearticles as they emerge from the outlet of the chute member and into thereceptacle, whereby each of said articles interrupts said beam of light,and means interconnected between said cell and said vibrator tode-activate said vibrator after a predetermined number of .articles haveinterrupted said beam of light.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said angles of said chute memberare about 30, 60 and 90.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the chute includes an insert in theform of a ribbon having its ends secured flat against the two sides ofsaid chute which define said angle of 90.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said flexible elbow has bafflingmeans therein for restricting the flow of articles into the chute.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said means for maintaining saidreceptacle in a receiving position comprise two arms having overlappingjaws for holding said receptacle, said arms being adjustable withrespect to each other so as to accommodate varying sized receptacles.

9. Apparatus for dispensing a predetermined number of articles from astorage container into a separate receptacle comprising:

means for temporarily positioning said storage container on saidapparatus so that the articles may be dispensed therefrom;

counting means;

a vibrator adapted to be activated by said counting means andde-activated thereby when a predetermined number of articles have beendispensed;

means for maintaining said receptacle in a receiving position;

means for transporting said articles from said storage container to saidreceptacle;

means for temporarily attaching said transporting means to said storagecontainer;

means for transmitting the vibratory motion from said vibrator to saidtransporting means whereby said predetermined number of articles arecaused to move through said transporting means into said receptacle;

said transporting means including a dispensing chute and a hollowflexible member for connecting said container with said chute, and abaffle located within said flexible member and secured to the end ofsaid flexible member adjacent said chute, said baffle being formed ofrelatively rigid material, and a resilient rod secured to said baffleand extending upwardly therefrom into said container for transmittingvibrations from said baffle to articles within the bottom portion ofsaid container, said rod being formed of the same material as saidbaffle and having a relatively small diameter.

10. Apparatus for dispensing a predetermined number of articles from astorage container into a separate receptacle comprising:

means for temporarily positioning said storage container on saidapparatus so that the articles maybe dispensed therefrom;

counting means;

a vibrator adapted to be activated by said counting means andde-activated thereby when a predetermined number of articles have beendispensed;

means for maintaining said receptacle in a receiving position;

means for transporting said articles from said storage container to saidreceptacle;

means for temporarily attaching said transporting means to said storagecontainer;

means for transmitting the vibratory motion from said vibrator to saidtransporting means whereby said predetermined number of articles arecaused to move through said transporting means into said receptacle;

said transporting means including a dispensing chute and a flexiblemember for connecting said container with said chute, said flexiblemember having I a hollow chamber therein, and a baffle located withinsaid chamber and secured to the end of said flexible member adjacentsaid chute, said baffle being formed of self-supporting material andhaving a plurality of panels secured interiorly thereto to define apassageway leading from said container to said chute which increases incross section in stepwise fashion from said container to said chute.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said baffle includes a tubularportion having a circular cylindrical cross section, and an outwardlyextending flange secured to the end of said tubular portion, and lockingmeans for securing said flange to said flexible member adjacent saidchute.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said flexible member has anoutwardly extending flange adjacent the flange of said baffle, saidresilient flange having a plurality of protuberances thereon, and theflange of said baffle having a plurality of apertures aligned with saidprotuberances to secure said baffle member and said resilient member inaligned relation.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a cam member is included,surrounding a portion of said flexible member and said baffle inwardlyof said flanges, said cam member having a tubular portion adapted'toextend outwardly beyond the said flanges, and said locking meanscomprises a ring adjustably threaded onto said cam member wherebyrotation of said ring relative to said cam member is effective-to adjustthe amount of compression between said flanges.

1. Apparatus for dispensing a predetermined number of articles from astorage container into a separate receptacle comprising: means fortemporarily positioning said storage container on said apparatus so thatthe articles may be dispensed therefrom; counting means; a vibratoradapted to be activated by said counting means and de-activated therebywhen a predetermined number of articles have been dispensed; means formaintaining said receptacle in a receiving position; means fortransporting said articles from said storage container to saidreceptacle including: a chute member, means for receiving vibratorymotion from said vibrator, and flexible means disposed between saidcontainer and said chute portion; means for temporarily attaching saidtransporting means to said storage container; means for transmitting thevibratory motion from said vibrator to said transporting means wherebysaid predetermined number of articles are caused to move through saidtransporting means into said receptacle; wherein said chute member has atriangularly shaped outlet and is adapted to be rotated so that the apexof each angle of the triangle may be moved to the lowermost position andact as the outlet angle.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the anglesforming said triangularly shaped chute portion each differ from eachother so as to accommodate different sized and shaped articles.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the means for receiving vibratory motionfrom said vibrator is a cam adjacent said chute member and the flexiblemeans disposed between said chute member and the storage container is aflexible elbow.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said counting meansincludes a photoelectric cell which intercepts a beam of light in thepath of the articles as they emerge from the outlet of the chute memberand into the receptacle, whereby each of said articles interrupts saidbeam of light, and means interconnected between said cell and saidvibrator to de-activate said vibrator after a predetermined number ofarticles have interrupted said beam of light.
 5. The apparatus of claim2, wherein said angles of said chute member are about 30*, 60* and 90*.6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the chute includes an insert in theform of a ribbon having its ends secured flat against the two sides ofsaid chute which define said angle of 90*.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5,wherein said flexible elbow has baffling means therein for restrictingthe flow of articles into the chute.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7,wherein said means for maintaining said receptacle in a receivingposition comprise two arms having overlapping jaws for holding saidreceptacle, said arms being adjustable with respect to each other so asto accommodate varying sized receptacles.
 9. Apparatus for dispensing apredetermined number of articles from a storage container into aseparate receptacle comprising: means for temporarily positioning saidstorage container on said apparatus so that the articles may bedispensed therefrom; counting means; a vibrator adapted to be activatedby said counting means and de-activated thereby when a predeterminednumber of articles have been dispensed; means for maintaining saidreceptacle in a receiving position; means for transporting said articlesfrom said storage container to said receptacle; means for temporarilyattaching said transporting means to said storage container; means fortransmitting the vibratory motion from said vibrator to saidtransporting means whereby said predetermined number of articles arecaused to move through said transporting means into said receptacle;said transporting means including a dispensing chute and a hollowflexible member for connecting said container with said chute, and abaffle located within said flexible member and secured to the end ofsaid flexible member adjacent said chute, said baffle being formed ofrelatively rigid material, and a resilient rod secured to said baffleand extending upwardly therefrom into said container for transmittingvibrations from said baffle to articles within the bottom portion ofsaid container, said rod being formed of the same material as saidbaffle and having a relatively small diameter.
 10. Apparatus fordispensing a predetermined number of articles from a storage containerinto a separate receptacle comprising: means for temporarily positioningsaid storage container on said apparatus so that the articles may bedispensed therefrom; counting means; a vibrator adapted to be activatedby said counting means and de-activated thereby when a predeterminednumber of articles have been dispensed; means for maintaining saidreceptacle in a receiving position; means for transporting said articlesfrom said storage container to said receptacle; means for temporarilyattaching said transporting means to said storage container; means fortransmitting the vibratory motion from said vibrator to saidtransporting means whereby said predetermined number of articles arecaused to move through said transporting means into said receptacle;said transporting means including a dispensing chute and a flexiblemember for connecting said container with said chute, said flexiblemember having a hollow chamber therein, and a baffle located within saidchamber and secured to the end of said flexible member adjacent saidchute, said baffle being formed of self-supporting material and having aplurality of panels secured interiorly thereto to define a passagewayleading from said container to said chute which increases in crosssection in stepwise fashion from said container tO said chute.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein said baffle includes a tubular portionhaving a circular cylindrical cross section, and an outwardly extendingflange secured to the end of said tubular portion, and locking means forsecuring said flange to said flexible member adjacent said chute. 12.The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said flexible member has an outwardlyextending flange adjacent the flange of said baffle, said resilientflange having a plurality of protuberances thereon, and the flange ofsaid baffle having a plurality of apertures aligned with saidprotuberances to secure said baffle member and said resilient member inaligned relation.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a cam member isincluded, surrounding a portion of said flexible member and said baffleinwardly of said flanges, said cam member having a tubular portionadapted to extend outwardly beyond the said flanges, and said lockingmeans comprises a ring adjustably threaded onto said cam member wherebyrotation of said ring relative to said cam member is effective to adjustthe amount of compression between said flanges.